This AI generated video was made free with D-ID and ChatGPT. It took about 5 minutes to create, from start to finish. I call this story “Rhonda the Dancer.”

Check it out:

It looks like I’m working around some botched plastic surgery and there’s a little bit of an uncanny valley element to it, but other than that, the output is pretty incredible.

We’re not too far from being able to use artificial intelligence to automatically feed entire YouTube channels. And with a bit more training, I’m sure the generative AI would move my lips in a more realistic manner.

Here’s how I made it: [continue reading…]

When I started in digital circa 2008, few people thought of privacy. They posted content to social media publicly, mostly for friends and family.

As Instagram’s monthly active users start to decline, we’re seeing the official death of connection-based social media. Instead, we see a bevvy of TikTokers saying something to the effect of, “If you know me in real life, don’t follow me.”

Social media is performative in a new way. Welcome of the new creator era, where people are creating for strangers and instead of watching TV, people are tuning into TikTok. [continue reading…]

There are three characteristics that made the Nothing Phone one of 2022’s most hyped tech companies. Two of them are the foundation of a blast-off startup idea.

If I had time to build this myself, I would. Instead, I’m scribbling my thoughts below. Please, steal this idea. (And if you want help getting it off the ground, contact me.)

Hype about the Nothing Phone tends to follow three common threads: Keep Reading

Ship 30 for 30 Coupon

I joined Ship 30 For 30 for the first time in April and fell absolutely in love with the work Dickie Bush and Nicolas Cole do to help people become content creators.

I reviewed the month long course-meets-challenge in the video below but if you prefer to read, here are a few things I love about Ship 30 For 30:

  • It’s one of the most organized courses I have ever joined.
  • Dickie and Nicolas know what they’re talking about and they bring incredible guests on board to talk about content creation and online writing.
  • The curriculum is designed so you the most important information quickly. No waste, just jam packed gems so you can focus on becoming successful as quickly as possible.
  • Ship 30 For 30 is motivating (and never crosses over into corny).
[continue reading…]

“Personal relationships in food are making a comeback.”

  • What you eat is a signal of your connoisseurship. Purchasing from Laduree does not hold as much social value these days as knowing and buying from an emissary of the macaroon world.
  • The trust of a continued relationship with a conglomerate is not everything anymore.
  • Social ties, social status, and social knowledge are more valuable than impersonal transactions.
  • The success formula of food used to be wide distribution. The playbook has shifted. Brands make money with quality and price instead of distribution.

“The food and drink market is rearranging itself according to the same aspirational lines as fashion or design.”

The backbone of status is social and cultural, not economic.